Page 11 of Nashville Cowboy
“Right.”
In Stone Ridge, not only were the few women here chased, but they were also revered. There might have been a few runaway brides over the years, not sure if they should settle down with so much on the menu. But the last man to hit his woman was run out of town by her brother and his friends. They took care of their own around here. Women were protected and isolated from harm.
Because if a man didn’t protect and love his woman, there was always someone waiting in the wings to do it for him.
After cleaningthe kitchen with Daisy’s help, Eve retired for the evening. In the privacy of the spare bedroom, she undressed, brushed her hair into a ponytail, and pulled her hearing aid out. The aid transmitted sounds from her bad left ear to her right good ear. She’d dealt with SSD, or single-sided deafness, for a few years now and adjusted to the fact that at times she’d miss parts of a conversation or be unable to determine the exact direction of a sound. Thankfully, she still had one hundred percent of her hearing in one ear.
She crawled under the soft cotton blanket now, tried not to think about Jackson, and instead counted her blessings. Despite what she’d been through, there was plenty to be grateful for. Though it took longer and had been far more expensive than anticipated, she’d achieved her dream. She loved being a veterinarian even if it involved long hours and was at times physically taxing. Her mother, Brenda Iglesias, tried to help Eve some with the tuition, but in the end, she’d taken on enormous student loans to get through.
She jerked as through her cracked window she felt more than heard a door slam outside and turned her right ear toward the sound. Probably the men were back. A few moments later she heard a door open and shut. Jackson. The heavy sound of boots thudded down the hallway and Eve stopped breathing when it seemed that the sound stopped just outside her bedroom door. She sat up straight and pulled the covers up to her neck.
Was Jackson back to have it out with her again? Because she couldn’t take any more tonight. They’d never talked honestly about why they couldn’t be happy when he wanted to go to Nashville with the rest of the band.
It was a talk theyshouldhave had long before their wedding day.
She’d been accepted into the Texas A&M veterinary program, and one week before their wedding, his band heard interest from Nashville. The band members were moving to Tennessee, but Jackson was getting married. He’d told Eve that he would keep playing the local bars, and, of course, there was also the family cattle business. Ranching wasn’t Jackson’s first love, but he loved horses and animals nearly as much as she did. Jackson didn’t mind staying behind. Or so he’d said.
But on her wedding day, Eve peeked through the garden trellis outside Trinity Church to spy on her handsome groom (her reasoning being the rule washecouldn’t seeherbefore the wedding, not the other way around). Her heart nearly stopped at how gorgeous he looked in his dark tux. She’d never loved anyone or anything in her life like she loved Jackson Carver. In that single moment, all her doubts faded to black.
But he’d been on his phone, and she’d heard the tail end of his side of a conversation.
“Y’all hit me up when you get rich and famous.” There was a strained laugh from him. “Maybe I can come out and visit sometime.”
The sound of his voice seemed despondent but accepting of his fate. Resigned. Minutes before their wedding which should have been the happiest day of his life. He’d turned, jammed his hands in his pants pockets, and, shoulders hunched, walked toward the church like a cow to the slaughterhouse. Her future husband.
The knowledge she could no longer avoid slammed into her heart. Just like their town, their relationship was lopsided. She lovedhimmore than he loved her. Maybe he thought he owed her a wedding day. He didn’twantto get married, but it was too late to back out one week before the wedding. They’d made wedding plans for a year before Nashville even came up. He was trapped like a caged animal. Sooner or later he’d eat his arm off to get away from her.
She swallowed the golf ball in her throat. Held back the sting of tears already wetting her eyelashes. Tried to calm her racing heart. There were so many people in the church waiting.
“Hey, there you are,” Sadie said from behind Eve. “Better get in here before he accidentally sees you or it’s bad luck.”
She’d turned to Sadie, the tears finally spilling.
“What’s wrong?”
“I-I c-can’t do this.” Eve handed Sadie her bouquet of wildflowers. It was beautiful, and exactly what she’d wanted. No roses for her. No lilies. Give her the Bluebonnets of Texas.
Sadie pushed the bouquet back. “Don’t you dare. I plan to catch this. I’m getting married next, when Lincoln notices me, but this way is cheating. I want to earn it fair and square.”
“You can have it now. It’s not getting thrown because I can’t get married.”
Sadie’s eyes widened. “Oh my God! You’reserious.”
“Jackson doesn’t want to marry me. He wants to go to Nashville.”
“Is that what hesaid?”
“He didn’t have to say it.”
Sadie’s gaze started to take on a wild and shifty-eyed look which felt like a mirror to Eve’s.
“Eve, there area lotof people here. You can’t justleave.”
And she couldn’t walk down that aisle, either. Marrying Jackson or jilting him. Both options made her blood pump ice-cold to her heart. She was going to hurt Jackson by not showing up. There hadn’t been a runaway bride since Tracy Presley, who’d been cheating on her groom and couldn’t go through with the marriage in the end.
Jackson might never forgive her for this. But she would also hurt him by tying him down to their small Podunk town. He might eventually thank her…someday.
“It’s either make him miserable now or make him miserable for the rest of his life by tying him to this town. And me.”
